This invention relates generally to beverage containers, and has particular reference to a novel auxiliary handle for use in drinking a beverage directly from its original can.
The practice of drinking beer and soft drinks directly from the cans in which they are purchased is widespread, particularly among young adults. This practice may have some undesirable aspects such as an unwanted heat exchange between the can and the hand that holds it and the possibility that the can may not be perfectly clean where it is contacted by the user's mouth. A number of detachable beverage can handles have been proposed in the past with the objective of eliminating one or more of the undesirable aspects noted above. The majority of these have been awkward to use or otherwise impractical, and they have not been widely accepted.
The closest prior art known to the applicant is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,580,824; 2,838,202; 3,029,975 and 3,261,635. Of these, U.S. Pat. No. 2,838,202 to C. P. Huether is the closest to the present invention in that it eliminates the necessity for holding the beverage can with the hands, and the user's mouth contacts the can handle or holder rather than the can itself when drinking. The invention disclosed herein differs from the handle of the Huether patent inter alia in the manner in which it provides for sanitary drinking and in its substantially more compact design overall.